Tracy Graber

I believe that observing, exploring, enjoying and sharing Nature is my calling. My tools are my hands, my eyes, my senses and my art supplies. I have a need to communicate and express my joy and wonder in the microcosms around me.

I have been drawing and painting since I was able to hold a pencil. My very earliest memories are of investigating a worm in an acorn, watching falling leaves swirl down , finding a dead bat - things like that.

Showing others what they might miss in their daily rush is really the idea I continue to return to - the fruiting of the lichens on an oak branch, a Monarch caterpillar chewing on milkweed or the identity of that elusive bird overhead. If people can begin to relate more to Nature, I believe they will grow to feel more connected, and therefore want to protect it.

I love the FEEL of drawing and painting, the act itself is like weaving or carving, the making of a hand-crafted life. Whether working in a tight, realistic manner or enjoying the energy and flow of the calligraphic line, the feel of the hand across the surface of a canvas or a sheet of paper is exhilarating. My mediums of choice are pencil, pen and ink and watercolor. I primarily work in the old English botanical style, with very little water for the most part, dry-brushing in details and textures. I keep a sketch journal constantly and I find that journaling tends to encapsulate time, enriching my daily experiences. It slows time down for me.

I hold a B.F.A.. in Illustration from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena , California. My work has appeared in web sites such as The Grand Canyon Association, The Babbitt Brothers, Canyon Webworks, and Flagstaff Central. I have done illustrations for brochures, greeting cards, logos, t-shirts, business cards, promotional posters and signs. I’ve also done countless personal commissions, many of them pet portraits.

With the challenges facing our planet, it is an honor to work with a company like Acorn Designs that produce beautiful and sustainable products of great integrity. I am pleased and proud to be part of this catalog.

Other web sites: cafepress.com/phaeriephox and faeriefox.etsy.com